News from Opening Bell

USA Today (7/27, Creno) carries an Arizona Republic report on the determination of some teachers – and states – to teach cursive writing, “one of the most controversial topics in American education.” At Lowell Elementary School in Mesa, teacher Brittney Chapman’s class of third graders are among “the poorest in Mesa Public Schools, and many do not have access to computers outside of school.” Arizona doesn’t require that cursive writing be taught, but Chapman “often makes her students write in cursive, and she writes assignments in cursive on the board to help the third graders learn how to read the script.” The report says some states are also rethinking the Common Core position that cursive writing isn’t mandatory, and “seven states – California, Idaho, Kansas, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee – are either debating or have recently mandated that cursive be brought back to the classroom.”